News of Old Collegians

A | Engagements

Dr Amanda Shilo (Davis 1991) is engaged to Kyle Mack. The wedding will take place on 27 May 2023 in Salem, Massachusetts, USA. Amanda will be joined by her two sons, Joshua and Alexander Shilo. Amanda recently accepted a new position as Assistant Professor in Healthcare Studies at Salem State University where she specialises in Global Health and Research Methods and oversees the student internship program.

B | Weddings

On 26 November 2022, Tran Nguyen (2014) celebrated her wedding with husband Phillip Ho.

C | Births

Ellen Kenner (Davies, 2009) and Jamin are delighted to welcome Sophie Daisy Kenner to our family, born in November 2022. A much-loved little sister to big brother Sam.

D | Anniversaries

Congratulations to Diana Cherry (Cole 1956) and her husband Edward, who recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Diana worked for many years in the Senior School.

E| President of RACDS

Dr Susan Wise (1989) was recently elected as the President of the Australasian College of Dental Surgeons (RACDS). She is the second woman to be President of the RACDS. Susan also co-chairs the Australian Dental Health Foundation Victoria which helps provide pro-bono dental treatment to patients in need, such as victims of domestic violence. Susan is a past president of the Australian Dental Association Victorian Branch and received the 2021 Australian Dental Association Valuable Service Award for her services to dentistry.

F | Honorary Doctor of Performing Arts Award

Congratulations to Dr Tania Chambers OAM (1979), a producer with Feisty Dame Productions, who has been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Performing Arts honoris causa from Edith Cowan University ‘to recognise her dedication and commitment to the film, television and arts industries’.

During her address to graduates, Tania discussed the creative industries as the meeting point between technology and the arts, science and culture, and business and creativity. She emphasised that these seemingly opposing concepts are not dichotomies, but rather must be fused together to foster innovation and shape the communities we aspire to live in. Tania also noted that the creative industries have the ability to showcase hyper-local stories with global appeal, making them a truly international force.

She stressed the two-way value of mentorship and the importance of seeking out opportunities to be mentored or to mentor. Tania also encouraged students to be bold because, as Goethe said, “boldness has magic in it.”

Tania’s third feature film, How to Please a Woman, was released in cinemas across the world in 2022, and is currently available to buy/rent via streaming and DVD, and is on STAN.

G | Jennie Girard’s Journey in Mission

Originally a French teacher in country Victoria, Australia, Jennie’s journey in mission began with a short term of service at Sahel Academy in the Republic of Niger. From there to attending Bible College in France to improve her French and to affirm her faith through solid biblical teachings, her call ended up being for France. A little surprised, she wondered how she was going to fulfil that calling, but when she returned to the Bible College, she met her French husband, Pascal, who received the call to pastoral ministry. Jennie turned back to SIM (Serving in Mission) France and Australia to see if she could be a supported missionary in order to develop her own ministries (Accompanying, Coordinating and Evangelism - her ACE ministry, she jokes; an Aussie expression meaning ‘great, fulfilling, fun, top’). Working through SIM since 2008, she has been in France for 30 years: pastor’s wife, mother of three, trained counsellor and very active in the revitalisation work of their denomination

(The Free Evangelical Church of France). She first completed her Initial Equipping for Healing the Wounds of Trauma with a team in the Netherlands in 2017, then, in Paris, became a Training Facilitator in 2020. The Lord brought together a diverse group of people to begin the development of the Trauma Healing network in France and the Alliance biblique française took this on as a project. Jennie was appointed Team Leader for the French Steering Committee for TH network in francophone Europe. She will also have a wider role as SIM Regional Coordinator for Trauma Healing in Western Europe. Jennie is currently on Home Assignment to meet with supporters and to seek new partnerships with people interested in supporting her work, and returns to France at the end of June.

If you would like to support Jennie and donate, scan the adjacent QR code.

Old Collegians Pursuing Theatre Studies

PLC’s Theatre Studies program has played a crucial role in fostering the talents and aspirations of generations of students pursuing their tertiary studies in theatre and related fields. Old Collegians Ellie Chan (2020), Phoenix van Twest (2022), Maddie Garwood (2022) and Helen Zhang (2022) are currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Victorian College of the Arts. While Ellie is studying Musical Theatre, Phoenix, Maddie and Helen are all specialising in Production. Having honed their skills both on and off the stage whilst at school, we eagerly await news of their future successes and achievements.

Healing the Wounds of Trauma through the French Bible Society and SIM Australia.

Scan the QR code below to donate or for more information.

H | Horse Trials Debut

Isabella Hermon-Randow (2020) and her OTTB (off the track thoroughbred), ‘Crocodile’, (formerly raced as ‘Run for Success’) made a successful debut at Werribee Park's Horse Trials last September. As a member of the Pony Club Association of Victoria (PCAV), Isabella demonstrated her skills in the sport of eventing, an English discipline where riders compete in dressage, show jumping and cross country in one event.

I |People’s Choice Award Winner

Artist Emma Jennings (1995) recently won the People’s Choice Award for the Burrinja Climate Change Biennale Exhibition with her 2022 painting, Future Fighters. Emma says of her painting:

“The People's Choice is meaningful, as this painting is about the people affected by Climate Change natural disasters. It’s fitting this award was presented a few days before the 40th anniversary of Ash Wednesday, and a week after the Black Saturday anniversary. The volunteers who respond to natural disasters are muchloved members of our community. Aiden is my son’s good friend from school and is a Junior volunteer for the Upwey CFA, with his sister Lexi. Their dad went with the Strike Team to Mallacoota in 2019/2020 and worked alongside other emergency services after the 2021 storm in the Dandenong Ranges.

Every Wednesday night we hear the siren test and we know they are at the station training – but they are not just training for bushfires. They respond at all hours in all weather, putting their lives at risk to save ours, and their families wait anxiously, selflessly at home for them to return. When five mountain ash trees fall through your house, or you have been flooded four times in one year, it’s impossible to ignore what climate scientists have been telling us for decades. 1.5 degrees is a big deal.

It seems at the moment everyone knows someone who has been impacted by a natural disaster. They are either displaced, have lost a loved one, or have felt the ripple effect of trauma and grief in their community. Maybe looking at the human impacts of climate change will motivate us to think about it with more compassion, and motivate us to pay attention to the years of scientific evidence, with urgency, hope, and action."

J | Phoenix Theatre Company Nomination

Catherine O'Connor (Greene 1976) was nominated at last year’s Phoenix Theatre Company AGM for a life membership in recognition of her involvement in the company for over 12 years. She shares her story below.

“I began as treasurer and now secretary of the company. I have performed for them as well in our musical theatre productions, providing entertainment for the local area in Manningham Shire. We perform at the Doncaster Playhouse in Doncaster and are a community theatre group. I was honoured and humbled to receive this award as my mother Wendy Greene (Thomsett 1954) (dec.), also an Old Collegian, co-founded the company with Craig Maloney (past president), in 1994 with their first live production of a cabaret in November 1995 and then Godspell later on. I have always wanted to carry on my mother's legacy in musical theatre and have had a lifelong love and appreciation of the performing arts. I performed the role of Rosie in PLC's production of Bye Bye Birdie in my final year of school in 1976 and have performed in musical theatre my whole life.”

K | Old Collegians Connect through Low Carb Melbourne

When Dr Avi Charlton (See Yan Leung 1994) and Gillian Harvey (1991) connected as presenters of a Women’s Health Summit in 2020, they weren’t aware of being fellow PLC Old Collegians.

Together with other like-minded health professionals, they founded the Low Carb Melbourne (LCM) support group two years ago. LCM helps members implement low carb lifestyle changes by providing information, community and connection.

Low Carb (Therapeutic Carbohydrate Restriction, TCR) has a growing body of evidence demonstrating benefits for many health conditions including metabolic disease, cardio-vascular disease and polycystic ovary syndrome. Both utilise TCR in clinical practice – Dr Avi Charlton has set up the Melbourne Low Carb Clinic in Wantirna and Gillian Harvey is a clinical nutritionist consulting in Doncaster East.

Avi and Gillian are active in raising awareness about achieving optimal metabolic health, good nutrition, and the harmful effects of sugar and processed foods in the population.

Avi Charlton and Gillian Harvey

Obituaries

The PLC Community was saddened to learn of the passing of the following Old Collegians.

June passed away on 20 March 2023. She will be greatly missed by her loved ones and friends.

Elaine passed away on 7 September 2021. Dearly loved and missed by her family and friends.

Dr Janette Poulton (1969) 1953 - 2023

Janette, or Netty as she was to some of us, went right through PLC Junior School from 1958 followed by five years at Senior School until 1969, when she specialised in piano at University High for her final year. She was the daughter of Dorothy and Dr Harold Poulton OBE; Dorothy was also an Old Collegian. The eldest of six, Janette had five younger brothers all at Scotch College, and she herself had five sons.

Janette completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Melbourne, a Diploma in Education and a Master of Arts in the turbulent 1970s. She worked in the Philosophy Department, and for the Education Department assessing teachers and developing curriculum, and her doctorate in Education was awarded in 2011. Janette was passionate about ideas, music and children and creativity. Co-founding Rhyme and Reason, she ran interactive workshops in early childhood. From her open house and haven in Northcote, in her later life, Janette made a substantial contribution in introducing philosophical thinking through the Victorian Association for Philosophy in Schools, the International Council for Philosophical Inquiry with Children and the Australasian Federation of Philosophy in Schools Associations.

In an extraordinarily rich and generous life, Janette was still working when she passed away suddenly.

Julie was a PLC student, a PLC parent and a PLC grandmother. She also volunteered in the library when her daughters were at PLC. She was so capable as a volunteer that she became a library technician in the PLC library, thus becoming a staff member as well. Julie was also acting Head of the Audio Visual Department when staff went on leave. When she joined the library staff, she decided she wanted to study further and obtained a Postgraduate Diploma of Information Management. Her lively sense of humour could easily dissolve tense moments at work.

After school, Julie went to RMIT where she obtained an Associate Diploma of Mathematics. Her love of and talent for mathematics stood her in good stead as a tutor of secondary school students in mathematics and statistics for over 20 years. She also tutored new migrants to speak and read English under the Home Tutor Scheme.

She married Robert Beasley in 1971 and had two daughters, Karen and Lisa, who both attended PLC. When her children were young, she was involved with the Templestowe Valley Pre-school Committee and also classes and activities at the Templestowe Valley Primary School. Julie loved tennis and was a member of the Deepdene Tennis Club mid-week ladies selection committee and a representative for the Eastern District Women’s Tennis Association. Later on, she became an avid and successful mahjong player.

After retiring from PLC, Julie worked in the Loreto Mandeville Hall College library and as the music librarian at Camberwell Boys Grammar School. Later, with another friend, both widows, she embarked on twelve years of travel to many parts of the world. She had decided that as a widow it was good to never say no to an invitation. Her friendship with so many people is a testament to this great lifeaffirming philosophy.

Isabel celebrated her 100th birthday in November 2021 and died peacefully in May 2022. She had been a resident of Caulfield all her life and matured to become one of Victoria’s leading craft and fibre artists.

Her Scottish great-grandfather, James Adamson, emigrated with his wife and four children to Melbourne in the late 1880s. They finally settled in Caulfield where he and his eldest son James became successful builders and carpenters in the North Caulfield area, building and renovating substantial homes in the Federation style. Consistent with Scottish Presbyterian respect for education and knowledge, the second daughter Elizabeth (Lizzie) Adamson was sent to PLC East Melbourne from 18881892. She was published in Patchwork, and went on to study Arts at the University of Melbourne, and became a teacher in the Gippsland area.

As the third generation in this ScottishAustralian family tree, Isabel began her early education at South Caulfield Primary School. As a teenager she thrived on the opportunity to complete her education at PLC East Melbourne (1936-1938).

Photographs of this era consistently show her as a smiling, healthy, fit and optimistic young woman. As a promising student, the school encouraged her to study for medicine, but during those Depression years, family finances could not provide for that. She sang in school choirs with her strong, note-perfect soprano voice, and she was later encouraged to train for the opera, and sang in large choirs for gala productions. At school she played all sports on offer, and this encouraged her throughout her life, playing tennis, baseball, squash, golf and finally table tennis into her mid-80s.

One story from her happy time at PLC is particularly poignant – aside from the traditional handwork skills that she had learned at school and from her mother and aunts, she yearned to learn to weave. Apparently, she would loiter outside the school’s weaving and craft studio, wishing to be lucky enough to learn the skills so that she could respond to a creative urge that was already whispering to her. Again, family finances prevented her from taking these specialised classes.

Following school, she trained in secretarial, dressmaking and millinery skills. In her early twenties she ran a boisterous weekly boys club for the Prahran branch of the YMCA. After a stint in Sydney during WWII, she married a handsome sailor, Garth Foster, in 1947. Her instinctive creativity found modest outlets, in sewing for her young family, and managing a home business for 22 years as an alterations specialist. She used to joke that her annual earnings from this modest business eventually could pay for her own daughter’s (Julie Foster) PLC school bus fees from 1963-1968.

Isabel’s inner self had been thirsting for exposure to the burgeoning crafts scene that was developing in Australia in the mid-1960s. She was eager for training in craft skills and techniques, new ideas and new friends. This finally became possible when her two teenage children had completed their schooling. First came enrolment in Creative Embroidery at RMIT, then she gained membership of the Hand Weavers and Spinners Guild of Victoria. It was here that she could finally develop her curiosity about spinning, weaving and rug making. These experiences literally altered her life.

In 1984 Isabel was one of four different craft artists who were selected as artist in residence at the Caulfield Arts Centre. Rag rug making had become her specialty for workshops that were organised for the wider community. A high-profile group exhibition completed the year-long project, by which time the full force and depth of her creative confidence had become evident.

For many years the Guild and the Council of Adult Education harnessed Isabel’s craft knowledge and enthusiasm. As part of the Guild’s regional outreach program, she travelled hundreds of miles in her car full of equipment, books, materials and examples of her work to give demonstrations and workshops to country people. The Council of Adult Education and the Crafts Council of Victoria also relied on her for a decade to teach wool craft skills in Melbourne classes and regional workshops. For 27 years, and with other Guild members, she was an energetic and popular demonstrator of wool craft and spinning at the Wool Pavilion of the Royal Melbourne Show. Somehow, there was still time to explore her own craft and make significant work that caught the attention of galleries, the press and a devoted fan base. Between 1970 and 2014 she was invited to take part in over 20 group and solo exhibitions. A survey of her exhibition catalogue shows that she created a wide variety of works, in vibrant textures and colours, and very often in her favourite medium of hand-spun and hand-dyed wool (rugs, cushions, wall hangings, knitting yarn, large embroideries, felting). She was open-minded about experimenting with synthetic dyes to give strong vibrant colours, and unconventional materials; she was dedicated to showing that fabric (old and new) could be creatively and artistically recycled into functional objects, such as rugs, wall hangings, shoulder bags, crazy patchwork and lastly as ultrafeminine draping boas.

The Glen Eira City art collection purchased one of her fibre wall hangings, and rugs and soft sculptures were included in the Gallery’s exhibition The Home Show in 2005. The Council also commissioned a large rag rug wall hanging for the opening of the Rosstown Aged Care Centre in 1985.

In 2013, and at the age of 92, Isabel was honoured with a major career retrospective exhibition, The Challenge of Colour, at Burrinja Gallery, Upwey. The depth and quality of the exhibition was a revelation not only to herself, but to the hundreds of visitors who flocked to the exhibition during its three-month display period.

Isabel spoke often about her life as an only child with indifferent health. Her over-protective mother and maiden aunts strictly instilled the importance of precision and traditional handcraft skills. For Isabel, however, mastering a technique was never an end in itself. By contrast, it became her driving ambition to gain the courage and freedom to explore and express her unique personal creativity. She was passionate in her encouragement of others (of all ages or circumstances) to break loose and explore where their own inner voice and creativity might lead.

Much has been written about Isabel’s work being a reflection of the vibrant and enthusiastic personality that emanates from her work. Later in 2023 the Hand Weavers and Spinners Guild will launch an online exhibition as a tribute to her life of creativity as a member of nearly 50 years.

Eleanor worked at the Commonwealth Serum Laboratory and then changed career to become a radiographer.

She married Michael Conlan (dec.) in 1959 and had two children, Suzanne and Michael (Jnr) (dec.). They moved to Brisbane in 1968 and settled in Kenmore, remaining in the same house for 55 years.

Eleanor had five granddaughters and one great-granddaughter, with one on the way.

Eleanor and Michael owned several menswear stores in Brisbane, including Dobbs Menswear, Surf n Jeans, Roxy and Big Guys.

She was an avid knitter and loved mahjong.

Her passion, besides family, was following the football – ALL football, including Australian Rules, Rugby League and Rugby Union.

The whole of Kenmore could hear her yelling at the TV on State of Origin nights and she won several years of friendly tipping competitions.

Provided by her daughter (pictured on the right), Dr Suzanne Elliott

Judy Faithfull (1970)

Judy passed away on 31 December 2022. She provided this short history since leaving school for a Class of 1970 reunion which she was unable to attend.

In 1971, I commenced the fouryear Interior Design course at the RMIT Faculty of Architecture, graduating in 1975. At the time, this was the only interior design course in Australia which offered a professional qualification. I then worked for a number of different architecture/interior design/ multidisciplinary practices in Melbourne doing projects across a variety of sectors, including retail, hospitality, commercial/workplace, residential, educational, aged care and disability services.

Since 2005, I have run my own interior architecture practice, Noumenon, providing a full architectural design service, including project management, plus space planning consultancy to other architectural practices.

I have travelled both for business and pleasure. In 1973, while still studying, and also in 1978 after graduating, I was fortunate enough to go on two three-month Architectural Study Tours of Europe, organised by the Fine Arts Department of the Architecture Faculty of RMIT, for current and recently graduated students of architecture, interior design and building.

My love of travel was certainly engaged and inspired by those early experiences. I also visited several times with my parents, who spent seven years living in Iraq and Kenya while my father was working for ICAO and the UN Development Programme as Chief Airports Engineer for both countries. Aside from exploring both countries, I discovered East Africa more generally and the islands of the Indian Ocean. Subsequent travel has been both national and international for business and for pleasure (the latter being much more pleasurable).

Provided by Merilyn Thorp Rennie (1970)

After completing HSC, Vicky studied at Toorak Teacher’s College.

Vicky taught at Ivanhoe Grammar and Carey before heading overseas in mid-2003.

Vicky travelled to England, Dresden, Lake Como, Malawi, Dubai, Singapore and Perth to teach in the IB system.

Vicky returned from overseas to Melbourne in 2016 and continued to teach primary school years in a variety of permanent and CRT roles in both Perth and Melbourne.

She will be sadly missed by her son Hamish and many old school friends.

Provided by Sue Cutler (Clements 1976)

Rosemary (Rosie) Fotheringham (Rowell 1965)

Sadly, Rosie passed away quite unexpectedly at Cabrini Hospital on 19 August 2022, from complications following surgery, aged 74 years.

Rosie attended PLC as a boarder from 1960-1965 as did her sisters Meg Troedel (dec.) (1958-1963) and Virginia (Ginnie) Wallace (1961-1966). During her time at PLC Rosie made many lifelong friendships with fellow students. She was an active member of Rosslyn House and participated in a wide range of sporting and cultural activities. Rosie enjoyed a number of sports at PLC and participated actively in athletics, tennis and netball. From this she developed her enduring love for all types of sport, including particularly tennis, AFL football and cricket. Rosie enjoyed boarding and in her final year became a Boarding House Prefect.

After leaving school, Rosie studied nursing at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and midwifery at the Queen Victoria Hospital. Following the completion of her studies she worked as a nurse, midwife and lactation consultant for more than 50 years at several hospitals in Melbourne and Canberra. She was highly respected in her professional capacity and made many enduring friendships among colleagues and new mothers alike.

Always artistic, her natural abilities found an outlet in her craft and gardening. In later life Rosie also qualified in her free time as a florist in Canberra.

Rosie is survived by her husband Ross, her two sons Justin and Stuart Stokoe, her step-daughter Nina, five grandchildren and her siblings Ginnie and Peter.

Provided by Rosemary’s sister, Virginia Wallace

Shirley Margaret Sargent (Tinkler 1946) 1929 - 2023

One month short of her 94th birthday, Shirley passed away suddenly and unexpectedly at home from heart complications.

Only daughter of Charles and Ruby Tinkler of “Crossways”, East Ivanhoe (both deceased). Attended Ivanhoe East State School and the original East Melbourne site of PLC between 1942 and 1946. Research Assistant for the Brotherhood of St Lawrence. Adored wife of the late Edward Deryck “Derry” Sargent and equally adored and devoted mother to son Leigh and his partner Chrissie.

Winner of the 1950 Australian Ladies’ Foil Fencing Championship and member of the 1952 and 1956 Olympic squads. Fenced with Salle Fleurets and Excalibur Fencing Clubs.

Shirley will be remembered and respected as a kind, thoughtful and gracious lady of high standards, a loving, dedicated and supportive wife and mother, a meticulous dinner party host and cook, an excellent quilter/ patchworker, an Australian native plants specialist and enthusiastic gardener and photographer with husband Derry, who always put everyone else before herself.

Recent years saw sight and hearing losses, which curtailed a local reading group membership and contribution to the La Trobe University Friends of the Wildlife Reserve Seed Sorters group. Shirley battled these losses stoically and successfully to the extent of remaining independent at home to the end; no small achievement. We are thankful for that and that her passing was quick, but equally sad we could not be with her. A wonderful lady, life and legacy. Her ashes will join Derry’s at the summit of Mt. Oberon, Wilsons Promontory, overlooking their favourite campsite to rest in peace together again forever.

Thou art not forgotten, mother dear, Nor ever wilt thou be; As long as life and memory last, I will remember thee.

Pleasant was she in life throughout, A favourite with all: Peacefully she sank within The arms of Him who did her call.

(With grateful acknowledgement to the family of Sarah Blackman, who died on 7 January 1876, at Richmond, for their then tribute in "The Age".)

Provided by her son, Leigh Sargent

Eulogy for Lexie Luly

Written by Lexie in 2012

Born in Preston on St Patrick’s Day 1924, Lexie lived all her life at 7 May St; the only child of Dorothea (Doll) and Evan Luly. She spent a very happy childhood in the company of Bartlett and Henkel cousins and neighbouring children.

Many days were spent playing in the large garden, bantams scratching away and Paddy the Irish terrier digging holes for his bones. Summer holidays at grandfather Luly’s holiday house at Altona meant rowing boats, swimming and fishing. A baby brother was born in 1929 and died the same day – the day Evan was to take her to see Pavlova dance.

After the fifth grade, Lexie left West Preston State School and travelled by train into East Melbourne to attend Presbyterian Ladies’ College. From then on, for nearly 50 years, life revolved around that College as student, member of staff and Old Collegian. Not brilliant, but always up near the top of the class, her passion was sport, with art and craft next in favour, but not maths or languages. A member of the school baseball and tennis teams, the latter no doubt due to the fact there was a tennis court at home and all the cousins, friends and neighbours played there. Her mother had been trained as a tailoress and was an excellent seamstress. Evan had followed his father into the Government Lands’ Department but could have been a draughtsman and so naturally there was a strong influence on the art-and-crafty career eventually taken by Lexie.

During her seventh and final year as a PLC student and prefect, her mother suffered a series of severe strokes and died after six months. Her last words to Lexie were, ‘I know you can look after yourself’. This, and her mother’s faith, centred on ‘Do unto others as you would wish they do unto you’, had a profound influence on Lexie’s life. This was also the main theme of education at PLC, as for many years, social work was known as ‘for others’.

Lexie and Evan carried on as a team with house and garden, study and work. Three years on a Technical School Scholarship at Melbourne Technical College (RMIT), Emily McPherson College of Domestic Economy and Preston Technical School meant a concentrated but varied course of drawing, painting, dressmaking, millinery, tailoring, craft and cooking! World War 2 was not yet over when there was an urgent call from PLC, as re-enrolments as Occupational Therapists or Red Cross aids had depleted the art staff to only Miss Lawton. So, without any formal teacher training, though having gained Primary and Secondary Art Teachers’ Certificates and a Diploma of Needlecraft, Lexie was ‘thrown in at the deep end’. What better training than having to teach practical classes of 30 students in the same studio as Miss Lawton and within the time limit of 40-minute periods. In any case, there was no official art/craft teacher training courses and teachers of these subjects could not even be registered to teach. This recognition came many years later after a long hard battle.

Four years later, and still on a salary of £180 per year, Lexie sailed for England with three young teachers. Three years of adventures, riding a bicycle across France and from Austria through the Rhine Valley and across Holland and Belgium. Trips to Scandinavia, Switzerland and Italy, all done on a pittance, for a teaching post in England did not earn much, though free board and lodging was a bonus. Teaching art, dressmaking and tennis in a private school called ‘Wings’ was a real adventure as it was in the stately home of the Earl of Suffolk and Berkshire, though situated near Malmsbury in Wiltshire. In the season, everyone went hunting with the Duke of Beaufort’s Hunt, Lexie included, though she had only ever been on a horse once in Australia. She also coached tennis because she could beat the three Principals of the school - one coped with the teaching, another the business matters and the third looked after the horses for the hunt!

No longer an ‘innocent abroad’, Lexie returned in 1951 to teach again at PLC until 1956. That year was spent absent without pay on a grand world tour in preparation for the directorship of the Art Department after Miss Lawton’s retirement. The school’s shift to Burwood followed and from then on, many summer vacations were spent wandering the fascinating countries of Central and South America, attending World Craft Council (WCC) and International Society for Education through Art (INSEA) Assemblies and Conferences in Canada, Mexico and Japan. One long service leave was spent travelling via Easter Island to Southern Chile, then north through South America, Mexico, Panama, the USA and over the North Pole, Russia and back through the Middle East.

In 1979 it was easy to persuade Evan that the 1922 Luly home was getting difficult to maintain, in that Evan wasn’t getting younger and Lexie was getting older! A new Merchant Builders solar-orientated home was built on the same site and Evan enjoyed the comfort of it for his last six years. Solar hot water was installed in 1981 and solar panels in 2001.

Lexie’s retirement came at the end of 1983. Compulsory at the age of 60 in those days, it was a time to leave PLC for many reasons. After Evan’s death in 1985 she continued coping with the large garden but had the foresight to take advantage of the new dual occupancy arrangements. A smaller Merchant Builders home was built on the rear of the property with access from the back street. Constructed with the physically disabled in mind, it was rented out to some very grateful tenants but could always be available if Lexie was ever in need of a wheelchair herself. It was bequeathed to Independence Australia. Her main hates were people who complained but did nothing constructive, those who were bored and football fanatics. She maintained a variety of interests including the beloved Luly garden, opera, classical music, art exhibitions, philately, photography, family history, sewing and craftwork, Neighbourhood Watch, contact with PLC colleagues and past pupils and, of course, travel throughout Australia and the world.

Journeys to the Antarctic and Falklands, Patagonia and Terra del Fuego. Alaska, Greenland and the Canadian Arctic. Easter Island and Galapagos, Tibet and China, Uzbekistan, Namibia, Borneo and many more were all wonderful experiences. The silence and the beauty of the ice lands were always a solace amid the noise of modern living. Overseas travel became restricted by the devaluation of the dollar and civil unrest throughout the world. There was still more of Australia to explore by Air Safaris, mail runs and camping adventures, crisscrossing the continent and finding added pleasure by getting to know the vast waterless but colourful country.

Eventually retirement settled into a routine of enjoying gardening and growing the necessary vegetables and fruits for healthy living, compiling many family histories and ‘Life and Times’ volumes, enjoying the arts and the contact with the PLC family, so keeping mentally alert and physically able to live independently.

Edited by Diana Cork, January 2023

Lexie Luly and the art of timetabling

In 1979, when I commenced at PLC, Lexie Luly was the Head of Art and one of the few remaining members of staff who taught at East Melbourne.

It was Lexie’s responsibility to work with PLC’s Timetable Coordinator on the Art timetables. In those days, the timetable was not done with computer assistance, but rather "by hand” (and brain power).

In early January, after the majority of PLC’s timetable had been completed, Lexie and I would meet around the kitchen table at her home in Preston. We would timetable the special requirements for Years 7 to 10 Art electives (Painting and Drawing, Photography, Textiles and Ceramics) and resolve any clashes. During our hard and hot work (Melbourne Summer), our energy levels were sustained by Lexie’s father who would make sure we were well fed and had plenty of cool drinks on hand. But the highlight for me was the guided tour around his beautiful and productive vegetable garden. He made sure that I went home with bags of fresh vegetables; the tomatoes were especially delicious!

Ah! The good old days. Fond memories indeed. I give thanks for the warmth and welcome Lexie (and her father) gave me during my first years at PLC.

Provided by Wayne Rice Former Head of ICT at PLC

Old Collegian-Teacher-Historian-Traveller-Friend

A friend recently asked me how long I had known Lexie Luly. I replied, ‘Since I was eleven years old, in my first year at PLC East Melbourne. I met Lexie as my Arts and Crafts teacher in the historic ‘Studio’ in East Melbourne.’

I did not meet Lexie again until 1969 when, at the invitation of the Principal, Miss Joan Montgomery, I was asked to establish an audio visual department in the school at Burwood.

Lexie was very familiar with slide projectors, on which she displayed her vast collection of slides, gathered over years of travelling. Now, with the Audio Visual Department established, I could provide the staff with up-to-date equipment for their classes, e.g., overhead projectors, cassette recorders, carousel slide projectors, and, later, introduce video into over 50 classrooms.

Lexie made use of all the above-mentioned equipment, adding colour and sound to her History of Art classes.

Lexie and her staff made wonderful use of this new media, as the videos taped off-air were outstanding and fitted in with the art curriculum. She was always interested in new developments and keen to explore the use of up-todate equipment.

Lexie had a keen knowledge of every piece of furniture, painting and photo that had come from the school in East Melbourne. If I ever asked a question about any piece, she would inform me of its history. Her memory was outstanding!

She was a keen traveller and would venture to exciting countries at every opportunity. This was so typical of her, an adventurous spirit.

Lexie and I were firm friends over many years and her interest in my three children was an ongoing joy to me and to them.

A Tribute to Lexie Luly

It’s a curious thing perusing the death notices in a once-a-week Melbourne newspaper. I’ve been gone 50 years. Who would I know?

Lexie Luly.

Miss Luly

My art teacher.

Androgynous Miss Luly in her sweeping mid-calf skirts, arms full of the day’s lesson.

Anarchic bob-haired, sensible shoed Miss Luly.

Dissident Miss Luly who scorned the portraits of dignitaries in the gloomy corridor beside Wysleskie Hall.

Seditious Miss Luly whose amused noncompliance challenged our accepted fervently conservative conditioning.

She trawled us through the whole sweep of Western Art History. She opened to us the vast possibilities of making images. She pushed. She encouraged. She challenged. She informed us and exposed us to contemporary practice.

She animated in me a metamorphosis. Her impact is life-long.

Miss Luly in the death notices. I wept.

Written by Deirdre Outhred (1967)